Oskar Blues eyes Boulder train depot for new brewpub

Crews move the historic Boulder train depot 0.9 miles to its current home at 3151 Pearl St. on Oct. 2, 2008. Longmont-based Oskar Blues is considering leasing the space for a new Boulder brewpub.
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CORA KEMP
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1890: The Union Pacific Depot is built at 14th Street and Canyon Boulevard.

1957: The depot is turned into a bus terminal and travel agency.

1973: Facing demolition, the depot is moved to the northwest corner of 30th and Pearl streets.

2008: The depot, most recently home to the Boulder Jaycees, is moved 0.9 miles to its current home, a 3.28 acre site at 3151 Pearl St. that will be home to the Boulder Junction development.

2011: Boulder signs a 20-year lease with Pedersen Development Co. to develop the depot into an "active commercial use." Pedersen plans to spend $1 million renovating the aging building.

Boulder's historic train depot could be reborn as an Oskar Blues brewpub.

The Longmont-based company known for its canned craft beers is considering the 122-year-old stone building -- which will serve as a cornerstone for the planned Depot Square at Boulder Junction development -- as one potential home for a Boulder brewpub, Dale Katechis, Oskar Blues' founder, told the Camera on Friday.

"We looked at it; we liked the space, but we haven't made any decisions yet," he said. "We're still reviewing some options and will decide in the next few weeks."

Katechis declined to identify other Boulder locations under consideration.

Oskar Blues, which operates restaurants in Lyons and Longmont, has looked at several locations within Boulder, Denver, Fort Collins and Longmont to open more brewpubs, Katechis said last month, adding that Oskar Blues most likely would operate more than three restaurants.

The privately held Oskar Blues' posted production gains of more than 40 percent in 2011 to help accommodate skyrocketing demand. Amidst that rapid growth, Oskar Blues also has expanded its business empire to include a farm, a distillery, a food truck and a mountain bike business.

Last year, the city of Boulder inked a 20-year lease agreement with Boulder-based Pedersen Development Co. to have the depot serve as an "active commercial use." Pedersen plans to spend more than $1 million to renovate the structure and build it out to have two levels with a rentable area of 5,500 square feet.

The depot is one element of the multi-faceted Depot Square development that will include an underground Regional Transportation District bus station, a 140-room Hyatt hotel and 71 permanently affordable apartments. Construction is slated to begin this summer and take about 18 months.

Developer Scott Pedersen said he hopes to have the depot house a brewpub.

"It'll be restaurant-oriented," Pedersen said Thursday, declining to disclose potential tenants. "In a perfect world, it will be a brewpub. We love the tenants who periodically have live music."

Joe Osborne, a spokesman for Boulder-based Avery Brewing Co., said he would welcome the addition of a regional craft brewer to the Boulder market.

"We're blessed on the Front Range, in general, to have such an interest and a lot of fans here for craft beer," he said. "I personally think the industry still has room to grow. We love the guys at Oskar Blues ... and love the collaborative brotherly and sisterly spirit. I'm sure (if) they get set up over here, I'll be over there drinking."

The brewpub would be the fifth use for the building that once served as a train depot, a travel agency, a bus stop and a home to the Boulder Jaycees.

The Union Pacific Depot was built in 1890 on the corner of 14th Street and Canyon Boulevard. As it faced demolition in 1973, it was moved to the property northwest of 30th and Pearl streets at the urging of historic preservation advocates.

The building's second move came in 2008 as plans moved forward to expand the neighboring Whole Foods Market. On an early October morning that year, it took 12 hours for workers to move the 800,000-pound building -- which was mounted on steel beams that each were welded to 12 sets of dolly wheels -- 0.9 miles to its new home at Boulder Junction.

The move cost $750,000, about $600,000 of which was footed by Regency Centers, which owns the Whole Foods-anchored Crossroad Commons shopping center.

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